Kale Salad With Apples, Cheese, and Walnuts

And with STILL more kale to use up, I decided to raid my cupboards and come up with a yummy salad for dinner.

 

I know this will sound crazy, but to tenderize kale leaves that are somewhat tough, you can simply remove the center stem and POUND the remaining leaves with your fist.  Just lay the bag of raw kale on the counter and pound away with your fist.  (It beats anger management classes!)

 

When the kale was sort of limp, I dumped the leaves into a bowl and added the following:

1 red apple, cored but unpeeled

toasted walnuts

raisins or dried cranberries

grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

 

 

(FYI…REAL Parmigiano Reggiano cheese from Italy is a thing of beauty!) 

 

For the dressing I combined the following:

 

Balsamic vinegar…several tablespoons

1 heaping tsp whole grain mustard or Dijon mustard

About 1 Tablespoon of honey

Some Extra Virgin Olive Oil…maybe 6 Tablespoons or so.

A splash of orange juice

A sprinkle of salt and pepper

 

I mixed all the dressing ingredients until it began to thicken, then I added it sparingly to the salad ingredients and mixed well.